So Thankful

I am so incredibly thankful for our sweet little family.  For my three healthy, happy, wild boys that make me laugh all day long - and maybe yell here and there.  For my wonderful, funny and very frugal husband that loves and supports us all.

Days like this I just want to pinch myself.  What did I do to get so lucky!?

Jack is thankful for Chewy :)  This picture was just too cute not to throw in.

 We have been fortunate enough to have lots of family in town for the holiday.  That means ALL the cousins from Daddy's side of the family.  Here Max hides out with some of the out of towners.  These three boys were all born within six months of each other. It's always so fun when they get together.

The kids were so cute playing board games together.  I loved watching cousin Dana teach Will about battleship.  She is an amazing big cousin and it's fun to see how the boys look up to her.  Will did his very best at the game, but didn't quite get the whole grid idea.  Sorry is always a hit.

 Aunt Maxi and the rest of her family are staying with us while they are in town.  Jack just loves her! He kept taking her hand and dragging her all over grandma and grandpa's house to show her things.  It was pretty cute.

 With cousins all over the country it isn't often that they are all together. In fact they haven't all been together since Jack's first Chrismas.  Sweet baby Charlotte wasn't even born yet! We were sure to commemorate the day with lots of pictures!

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Of course we couldn't just get a picture of the cousins.  We needed to get grandma, grandpa, and great grandma in on the action.  So much love here!

After grandma and granpas we headed over to nonna and nonno's house for another fabulous meal with more of our wonderful family.  The boys needed a bit of downtime and they looked so cute snuggled up in the bed watching netflix.

 Nonna had the best helper she could ask for!  Will brought her dirty dishes, put things in the soapy water, and even put things away.  He was very interested in how she cooked the turkey and why she needed this rack.  He also asked her where she killed her turkey :)

 Will worked up an appetite with all the helping so a piece of apple pie was in order.  Along with some whipped cream.

This guy enjoyed his ice cream.  He is just getting so old!  I swear he is practically a teenager.  I also think his smile is looking more and more like his daddy's!

 Jack disappeared for a little while.  I found him in the bathroom washing his hands.  Let's just say he was so thorough that his shirt was ready for the dryer.  He sure looks cute with his Nonno though.

There might not be as many kids on my side of the family, but there sure is just as much love!  We look forward to the week after Christmas when their only cousin on my side comes into town.  

We are excited about one of more day of fun before the rest of the cousins head home and life gets back to normal.  Although I sure am enjoying this bit of abnormal.  I find that I can get a bit overwhelmed when we have lots going on.  Earlier in the week I told Brian I wished the holiday was over already.  I was stressed about getting everything done and was anxious that things wouldn't go smoothly. Today I'm reminding myself not to wish it away.  I need to embrace all the craziness that is our lives because with the craziness comes a whole lot of joy.  Again I just wonder how I got so lucky!  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Happy Halloween!

As I type our little lion is sleeping upstairs while Daddy, Captain Barnacles, and Mario riding Yoshi are still out trick or treating.  It has been a pretty great holiday!

We started out with pumpkin carving last night.  This was not my finest hour.  The kids wanted to make Mario pumpkins and it just wasn't pretty.  I may have gotten a bit frustrated but the kids had a great time.

 This is a total Daddy activity.  There are big knives involved and Mommy gets stressed.  I need to hit the sales to buy one of those kid safe carving kits for next year.

 Once Daddy cut off the tops it was time to get our hands dirty!  Max was a little cautious at first but he got it done.  Will and Jack weren't too sure.  Jack giggled but barely watned to touch it.  Will announced that "I'm glad I didn't touch that with my sucking thumb!"

 Max did a great job using the knife to cut the Mario outline on his pumpkin.  Mom and Dad did the hard core cutting.

 I have to admit that the finished product turned out pretty well.  The boys were excited about them.

 Before we headed out for trick or treating we all stopped at Grandma and Grandpa's for a visit.  Even Cali the dog got in on the Halloween picture action!

Max's Party Day

Yesterday afternoon I had the fun job of helping out at Max's Halloween party.  It was a great time - a little crazy, but great none the less.

There were crafts - including the adorable hats all the kids were wearing and games.  Here the kids had to work in groups to put the skeleton together.  They got pretty into it.  Our other game was a relay where the kids had to balance a mini pumpkin on their head and walk across the room.  I have to say it was tough!  Those little pumpkins were slippery.

We finished up with a makeshift photo booth.  I love this silly picture of Max.  I still can't believe he is a 2nd grader.  It just goes too quickly!  I'm going to need to begin thinking about the spring party for this wild crowd!

Will the Party Animal

Will had not one but two Halloween parties today!  Just don't tell Max, I think he would be jealous :)

We started out with snack in the classroom at his 'regular school' party.  Every time the kids eat they say this super sweet prayer with hand motions.  I love it.

Then there was the parade.  Will waved to all the parents like a champ.

The parade ended in the little gym for some super cute songs.  Will was a super waver, but singer, not so much.  He still looked pretty darn cute.

  Games were next on the list and Will had a blast with his two little buddies.  I hear their names on a daily basis so it was fun to watch them play pass the pumpkin, musical tombstones, and a ring toss game.

This guy was a trooper through it all.  He was rewarded with a cookie and he was thrilled.

The party continued with a party a Will's 'speech school'.  He paraded around the building with the other kiddos and got even more treats.  It was pretty cute to watch.  I didn't get any pictures of that one.  I was too busy trying to keep Jack happy.

Now we just have to get through Max's class party tomorrow.  It should be fun - and I'll be happy to get all the party supplies out of my dining room!

Halloween Bash

Just like the last few years Great Aunt Carm and Great Uncle Mike threw a spectacular Halloween party tonight.  The kids had so much fun!

Well Jack had fun when he wasn't being forced into his lion costume.  He was not a fan and pretty much couldn't wait to get it off.  I considered myself fortunate that I got to dress Will and Max and not Jack.  It was rough.

But he looked so stinkin cute!

Will continues to love all things Octonauts.  For months he has talked about being Captain Barnacles for Halloween.  I will admit there were several rough moments in the making of this costume - including promises that I will never make another costume ever again - but he loved it.  He was so excited to dress as his favorite character.  It made all the work worthwhile.

Max loves Mario.  For a month he wanted to be Bowser.  I was totally overwhelmed by the idea of making  a Bowser costume.  It was crazy.  So after some additional searches we found this.  Max fell in love with it and so did all the other kids at the party.  

 There were three other kids at the party - the sort of cousins.  All five of the big kids played so well together.  These two cracked everyone up.  They were holding hands and she was telling Will exactly what he should be doing.  He listens to her better than he ever listens to me :)

 These two oldest boys would have played in the backyard all night - in fact I think they pretty much did.  Throw in one more boy that I didn't get a picture of and they were in elementary school boy heaven.

 While Jack did play with the bigger kids some, no one measures up to the Nonna.

I'm not sure why everyone is leaning, but there is a whole lot of love in this picture!

 Last but not least here are the hosts with the most!  I'm so lucky to have these two amazing people in my family.  I'm even more lucky that my boys are getting to know and lvoe them as well.  In fact Will sent Great Uncle Mike a letter just the other day - it may have just been a couple strips ripped from a coloring book, but it's the thought that counts right?  Great Aunt Carm has one in the mail too.

Pumpkin Patch Fun

Last Monday the boys were off school so Brian took off work and we had a family fun day.  Our annual trip to the pumpkin patch was wonderful!  You wouldn't think it was October based on how we were dressed.  The weather was beautiful!

Will calls this his 'roof'.  Whenever we head outside and it's sunny he yells out 'automate roof' and puts his hand up to shield his eyes.  I guess all the boys needed roofs.

 These two big boys know how to push my buttons like no one else - well maybe besides their Daddy.  No matter how much they can fight and make me crazy they always redeem themselves with sweet moments like this.  It seems like there are more sweet moments than their used to be.  Progress.

 I love how hard Will worked at the obstacle course.  He didn't give up even when things were tough.  He stuck with it and was so proud when he got to the top so he could slide down.

 This little guy had so much fun!  He must have gone down this slide 30 times and every time his smile was this big.  He would get to the bottom and tell me 'more slide again mommy!' and run around to climb the stairs .

 With a little help from Max, Jack was able to move all around on this cute little tractor.  He couldn't quite peddle, but I think they were broken any way.

 My big daredevils had a blast on the zip line.  They loved the ride down.  Although Will wasn't wild about the landing in the hay.  It was itchy!

 Here is my attempt at a picture of all three boys while we waited for our tractor ride.  Someday they will all look at the camera right?

The whole family loved the tractor ride.  It wasn't quite as messy as last year, but it was still fun anyway.

These three little men mean the world to me.  There have been a couple rough nights this week, but no matter what I wouldn't trade it for anything!